The Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Advocacy Working Group (AWG) has demanded urgent government action to effectively deliver the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) promises particularly the ones that concerns NCD patients in Nigeria, thus pushing for urgent release of the 2025 NCDs budget.

The AWG stated that NCDs, notably, hypertension, diabetes, cancers, and chronic respiratory illnesses, pose some of the greatest threats to Nigeria’s human capital and economic prosperity.

The AWG further stated that NCDs patients in Nigeria bear one of the largest shares of public health burdens, and disclosed that one-third of Nigerian adults have one or more NCDs and less than 20 per cent have access to diagnosis and treatment.

At a press conference in Abuja, the AWG said the rise in NCDs align with targets set in the 2019-2025 multisectoral plan to increase diagnosis and treatment coverage to 80 per cent and reduce mortality by 25 per cent. Yet, only six per cent of the already insufficient health budget is allocated to NCDs.

“As we have now learned, nearly none of the budgeted activities in the 2025 budget have been executed. These activities range from erecting new cancer facilities, eye centres, medical outreaches for hypertension and diabetes screening and treatment as well as health workers training. This development defies the spirit of UHC which is built on our collective understanding of social impacts on health.

“For many Nigerians, lack of adequate health education, household income, lack of access for early screening and high cost of medicines exacerbated by economic policies have combined impact on the incidence and management of chronic diseases. This vulnerability is what Nigeria and the rest of the world have agreed to protect against through the UHC Agenda.”

Ijeoma Joseph of the Regina Community Care Foundation, who represented the patient community, said the government must convert its commitments into real, life-saving interventions, insisting that NCDs pose one of the greatest threats to Nigeria’s human capital.

Chi-Kadibia Ukoma, Vice President of the Nigeria Cancer Society, lamented the government’s failure to execute the 2025 NCD budget.

General Secretary of the Health Sector Reform Coalition, Ndaeyo Iwot, emphasised that political will must translate into sustainable financing, insisting that allocations mean nothing without timely release, thus asking the Federal Government to immediately release all NCD budget lines in the 2025 budget.

He also urged the Executive and National Assembly to ring-fence Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) tax revenue for NCD interventions.

He commended the Senate and the Coordinating Minister of Health, Prof Muhammad Pate, for supporting an increase from the token N10 per litre to a more effective rate such as N130 per litre or at least 20 per cent of the retail price. “At least 40 per cent of SSB tax revenue should be dedicated to NCD prevention and control, Including essential drugs, diagnostics, and service delivery consistent with global best practice

He called for expanded inclusion of NCD screening, diagnosis and treatment in the benefit packages of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) stressing that high out-of-pocket payments continue to force millions to abandon care.

Meanwhile, the Founder of the Maimurna Hope Foundation for Cancer and Ostomy Care, Maimurna Barau, highlighted the central role of Primary Health Care in achieving UHC.

“Up to 90 per cent of essential UHC services, including NCD can be delivered at the PHC level if properly equipped and staffed,” she said.

The AWG thus reaffirmed its readiness to partner with the government at all levels, but called for urgent leadership from President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly.

The group urged the establishment of a dedicated hypertension budget line, protection of NCD funding, and full integration of NCD services into the UHC framework. (The Sun)